Re: 'tea' water

[Pete Johnson <petej@tlg.net>]

Tracie> I know that peat will have the same effect, but I don't
Tracie> know that I want to risk sending my fish into PH shock,
Tracie> and even if I do it slowly, I'm not sure I'm ready for
Tracie> the hassles of changing my PH.

Peat doesn't generally effect dramatic changes in pH, at least not the 
peat I've used. It will gradually acidify the water, but the fish 
shouldn't be stressed by its use.

If you're keeping alkaline-loving fish such as those from the African 
great lakes then peat would be a terrible idea, but it won't shock fish 
that like neutral to acid water.

I don't boil peat, though I know others recommend boiling. The nursery 
bags say it's organic and sterilized and I've had no bad effects from it. 
I put a small handful in a nylon stocking and put the stocking in a 
filter. If you're worried about rapid pH changes, you could hide the 
stocking in the back of the tank, where it would alter the water even 
more gradually than in a filter.

If you change your water regularly you don't need carbon except for 
special circumstances such as to remove medication.

Tea is brown and acid, but I don't that tea bags are a good way to make 
black water for fish. If the fish survived the tea steeping, they'd 
probably be jumpy. OTOH, I heard that a local expert who has bred many 
fish was frustrated by a stubborn species which refused to breed until 
one day he accidentally spilled half a cup of coffee into their tank. The 
next day they spawned...


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     If wishes were fishes we'd all have ponds.

Pete Johnson        San Jose, CA       petej@tlg.net
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